Spring is here!

The snow has all melted and we've had t-shirt weather the past 2 days. Though we've enjoyed making snowmen, throwing snowballs, and skiing/snowboarding, it's nice to open the house up and have longer days. Yesterday we played badmitton and went for a walk on the C&O Canal tow path. I took the picture of Seth down by the river across from Grandma's house.
Seth tried growing out a mustache last week, but it wasn't really filling in (and I didn't like kissing "Mr. Mustachio") so he shaved it off. I toyed with putting a piece of tape on my upper lip so I wouldn't have to feel it when I kissed him.
I start my new job in a month. It's down in Gaithersburg, so we'll probably have to rent an apartment down there. Eventually, I hope Seth will find a job near there as well. I think there are many vineyards and wine importers, so he should be able to find something he likes. Gaithersburg is also where the glass blowing school is that he wants to go to. Glass blowing seems a little dangerous to me (what if you inhale?!), but he's wanted to do it for a long time, so I hope he likes it.

It's Snowing!

It snowed from about noon to 5:00 this evening for a total of about an inch. It's very pretty and we even got to throw a few snowballs.

Seth and I have been doing Wyldlife for Boonsboro middle schoolers; we had 18 kids at club on Friday. We only do club once a month, so it's tough to learn names and get to know kids, but hopefully a bunch of kids will come to weekend camp in March and we'll get some good quality time then.

Seth has been re-reading the Dune series. He took a reading break and made Vietnamese-style beef noodle soup today. He was trying to emulate the soup from the Vietnamese restaurant in North Palm Beach. The soup was good, but he said it wasn't quite what it should have been. We drove to Frederick yesterday to go to the Asian market and buy ingredients. I bought nori and made sushi last night - it was pretty good. I'll have to make it again soon, but I need to find a place that sells sushi rice.

So that's about all for now. Oh, except that we're going skiing on Friday (those of us who work at MCE get a discount at Wisp). I signed up for ski lessons since it was a really god deal and I figure I should learn. If I don't like it, I can always go back to the snowboard. Seth isn't interested in skiing.

Vietnamese, I hardly knew thee.

Well if you look closely at my hands you will see that they are not grease monkey blackened but a dark black/purple from the wine. G.R. (my co-worker) says that he likes to go into the bank with his "inky" hands and hold up a 100 dollar bill looking at it closely and say, "Here's a good one" and deposit it. We're making wine at a furious pace. My boss allows me a lot of latitude to make my own wine. I have several batches going that I hope will turn out well. All the whites are picked and a few of the reds, but there are a few more reds to go. Maine was very nice, we spent most of our time in Acadia National Park. We hiked and drove around the park, it was nice but not a substitute for Alaska, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Sequoia, etc. I mean that the park was not on the same level as those greats. Andy and I had a good time though. I'm glad to be back with my wonderful wife. We drove Andy to D.C. to buy a used car from a guy who bought a 58' woodhull boat and country house outside the city for the price(he says) of a two bedroom dump near the city. He and his wife live on the boat most of the time I guess. Afterwards we took another tour the capital(for Andy) and ate at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was really good, but nothing like the deceased "Viet Garden." Vietnamese food is really wonderful. I miss it.

Forget the apple butter, I want more turkey!

Apple Butter was really great, Elli and I had a excellent time. The title is referring to the great turkeys that were cooked over open flame for 6-8hours and were really the best I've ever had. I had a couple of the huge wings that were amazing and some other dark meat. Friday night we peeled the apples for several hours and chatted. We played games with the kids including ladder golf - you throw a 8-inch rope with a golf ball on each end and attempt to wrap it around one of three rungs(sp?) made of pvc pipe. They had the barrel train ride for the kids as well. They start the butter at 4am Sat. and after breakfast on Sat. I had my turn stirring the apple butter. We had to leave just as it was being canned/jarred at 4pm, hopefully G-ma will be bringing back our share of the spoils. We did a lot more, but I don't want to go on forever. However I will say that it is a really great tradition I hope will continue for many years and that we will be back next year. The picture of DJ is noteworthy not only because he is going for a cookie Lisa is holding behind her, but because after he got a piece of the cookie he walked over and gave it to another little boy. Neat.

Woodward

The cruise was great, good cars and good company. We had a great time, Frank Smith(Shawn Smith's father) showed us around so that we saw all the really good stuff. I of course didn't know nearly as much as the rest of the guys about the cars, but it was amazing none the less. My Dad and I went to the Henry Ford Musuem on the second day we were in Detroit. We visited the Rouge Plant, Ford's Greenville Village( old buildings, real Model-T rides, etc.) and the main museum. We spent all day there and it was really spectacular. The pics are cars we saw on woodward, except for close-up of the white car - that is a Bugatti Royale(nicknamed The Elephant Bugatti for obvious reasons) we saw in The Ford museum. $20 bucks says you ain't seen one. There are only six in the world. It on my christmas list for any of you billionaires out there!

I'll Cut You!

New external flash plus overgrown/inedible garden grown vegetables plus big butcher knife equals good pictures. I had this idea when I got the picture of the grape hanging in midair at the wedding to get pictures of slicing fruits/veg's with a knife and showing the moment of impact. I think they turned out great. Kudos to the photographer for the great shooting and timing, not me! Elli did a great job. So for all you out there that don't think I love my wife, here's the proof: I let her use my camera. And the look on my face was intentional. When I was just concentrating on hitting the cucumber and not making that face I looked dumb. With the grimace I look intense and concentrated and angry!

No really, I'm not a professional

Ethan and Valerie's wedding was wonderful, and it was great to see everybody. As you may or may not know I am not happy with 99% of the pictures I take - usually. The wedding reception was a different story though. I took a bunch of really great pictures.....Elli agrees so its not just ego. I hope Ethan and Valerie like them. The pics that need some explanation are the girl leaning back(Mary) about to catch a grape in her mouth, you can see it in the air above - click on it to see the larger version. Lastly, the girl with her eyes closed is Valerie with her head on Ethan's shoulder. Elli is pictured looking extra great with Amanda. We had a great time in Florida with the fam. Always too short. Sean Smith is supposed to visit this weekend, and next weekend is Detroit. There's a lot of other stuff going on, too much to list now. Thanks for the flash Dad, it really made a HUGE difference.